Missouri Porn Theater Bust Targets Gays
The Advocate,
April 2, 2002
Police in Jefferson County, Mo., arrested several patrons of an adult video
store for having sex in the store, but only those people engaging in gay sex
have been charged, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Six men have been
charged with "deviate sexual intercourse with another person of the same
sex," a rarely used misdemeanor. The men were arrested earlier this month
in a raid on Award Video, a High Ridge, Mo., business that sells adult videos
and shows pornographic movies. Those patrons who were arrested were having sex
in the theater at the time of the raid. If convicted, the men could face fines
and serve up to a year in the county jail. County prosecutor Bob Wilkins said
he was hesitant to use the controversial statute, which he called
"obscure," but he said that it was necessary to stamp out the
"open and notorious activities" at Award Video. "It is not my
intention to judge the conduct of consenting adults," Wilkins said.
"This is not about throwing homosexuals in jail; this is about trying to
prevent future conduct." Wilkins added that he would like to prosecute
those who were engaging in heterosexual acts, but he said they weren’t
violating state law. Under Missouri law, homosexual sex is illegal, though
rarely prosecuted. Heterosexual sex can be a crime if it causes someone alarm
or affront, which, Wilkins said, "did not likely happen at this
establishment."
The charges appear to be under "566.090, Sexual misconduct, first degree, penalties."
There is no Missouri crime titled "deviate sexual intercourse with
another person of the same sex," but that is part of the definition in
566.090. See the text of the law in the statute section of the Missouri
page.
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